Every week, comic fandom is gifted with a slew of fantastic stories from a slew of fantastic creators. These days there’s just so much good stuff out there that it can be a bit overwhelming, especially if you’re new to comics. Thus AIPT presents to you, Fantastic Five! A weekly column where we pick five fantastic books released during the week and tell you why you should take a chance on them via a snippet from our reviews.
Enjoy, and happy reading!
Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen #12
Words by Matt Fraction. Art by Steve Lieber.
Issue #12 is a perfect ending to the series. Where the last issue was the grand finale of the little subplots, this one solves the grand mystery behind the entirety of the story, as well as solving the issues with the Daily Planet raised over in Action Comics. Jimmy finds himself with more responsibility, but remains, at his core, the same person: the joie d’vie, the same love of adventure and ability to find himself way over his head, but solve his problems without just relying on Clark. (10/10)
–Sam Rutzick
Free Comic Book Day X-Men #1
Words by Jonathan Hick, Tini Howard, & Tom Taylor. Art by Pepe Larraz & Iban Coello.
Free Comic Book Day has always been dedicated to celebrating everything we love about comic books and the collectables industry. Various publishers will put out comics that are free, to share the love of all things comics. Often times these are quickly slapped together to tell non-consequential story, but I was more than pleasantly surprised to find out that Free Comic Book Day’s X-Men broke that pattern. (10/10)
–Ryan Pagella
Giant-Size X-Men: Magneto #1
Words by Jonathan Hickman. Art by Ramon Perez.
Jonathan Hickman continues to blow me away with his work on the X-Men. Ramon Perez and David Curiel animate every page of this book beautifully, and they capture the very essence of Magneto. This is the X-Men we deserve. (10/10)
–Ryan Pagella
Dark Nights: Death Metal #2
Words by Scott Snyder. Art by Greg Capullo.
Dark Nights: Death Metal is the kind of book you need to let go and let God, only in this case Snyder and Capullo is God. Sure, a giant T-Rex Batman is outrageous, but within the confines of this story, it makes sense because the multiverse is vast and can do anything. There are other elements I know folks will question, but again, if you consciously surrender to what Snyder and Capullo are crafting I guarantee you’ll love every minute of it. (9.5/10)
–David Brooke
Strange Adventures #3
Words by Tom King. Art by Mitch Gerads & Evan “Doc” Shaner.
I didn’t see it when the story started, but this is a political comic for political times. The book ends on a note that has got me interested more than ever thanks to a political angle Strange takes that should add a heavy dose of realism to a superhero story. It’s that kind of thing that will likely make this story stand the test of time. Strange Adventures is a page-turner with crisp pacing and stunning visuals with a narrative complexity and momentum that is unparalleled today.(9.5/10)
–David Brooke
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